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It's the time of the year for the biggests event in AKB48 again; the AKB48 sousenkyo (General Elections).

But first of, what is AKB48?

AKB48 is Japan's biggest girl group. They literally control Japan. Their presence dominates the media, and they're the hottest thing there since someone discovered butter on bread. But why do people like them? Well, for one thing, they're idols; but not the conventional kind. For decades in Japan, the term 'idol' has meant girls who giggle and be cute all the time and loves strawberry crepes and wants to swim in pools of pudding. But not AKB48. In the words of a certain girl of the group, those idols are 'really good actors'. AKB has remade the image of idols, leaving behind those who retain in the 'cute, bubbly' aura to one of 'be true to yourself, and not shy of it'. Each member stick to their own personality; they do not change characters for the sake of television (well, there are exceptions) and openly displays each of their unique characteristics.

Another reason for their popularity is that the management tries not to hide as much as possible. As in, they don't draw a firm line between the stage and the back of it; rather, they try to let the fans share in the experience as much as possible. Think SNSD or other more popular girl groups from other parts of the world. You hardly know what exactly goes on backstage; instead, you're sold the image of an perfect idol, one who sings, dances, does everything perfectly. AKB48 does the opposite; while putting on a marvellous perforrmance at the front, they will show the chaotic, frantic madness that transpires behind the curtain. Fans share their pain and suffering; accidents that happen before a concert, members unable to learn a certain choreography in time, or the constant hyperventilation issues when too much stress are placed on them. One concert, noted to be the biggest failure in their history, has a record of everyone fainting due to heatstroke behind, leading to an encore call by fans which should have been 3 minutes being 15 minutes long, after which members had to go out to buy time with mundane talk while the other members recover. As a side note, as one who have gone through army training, what they've endured is on a comparable level.

And on to the Sousenkyo. Every year, AKB48 holds a General Elections, allowing fans to vote for their favourite member. The rankings, however, holds serious consequences. AKB48, being the world's largest pop group, has too many members to feature on just one song. In other words, Only the 'top' members are chosen to appear in each single. The formation of these 'top' members are chosen by the management. This leads to the overshadowing of lesser-known members who only get to appear in B-sides; or worse, not at all. The AKB Sousenkyo decides their rankings, and their level of fame. It also marks their year's worth of efforts and work. Depending on the vote, it could make a member rise for the under ranks into stardom; or forever be clouded in the shadows of the others.

To vote, one must purchase a copy of their single prior to the Sousenkyo. Their current single is Sayonara Crawl, of which a voting ticket and a photo of a random member accompanies each CD.

And this year, I'm voting for 竹内美宥 (Takeuchi Miyu).



Who is Takeuchi Miyu? Miyu is an extremely talented 16 year old girl. She has media experience, dances well, and has exceptional vocals. Her ability alone has gotten her into a unit and the next-to-center position in performances, despite no 'pushing' (media support/ advertising for her) from the staff. She's cute, she plays the piano, she's a skilled photographer.

And she's totally ignored by the management.

(http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xu0vpc_akbingo-episode-178-eng-sub-2012-03-14_fun#.UXv1kbVHLEo ...This video she sings at 13:30. It's a singing competition among AKB48 members)

In the past 4 Sousenkyos, Miyu has ranked not even once (members below 60th place do not rank). She's left aside for other girls, for God know what reasons, despite being one of the better dancer-singers in the group. It's frustrating.

This year, I'm throwing all votes at her, in hopes of just getting ranked. I don't need her to be in the top 18; I don't need her to even be in the top half; I just want to see her ranked. And get that small, little credit she deserves for all her hard work and trials.

So. Vote for her, and I shall give you my PegasusMagicGX. And my love. And everything else in my possession. Heck, what do you need, I'll cover for you.

Why else should you buy the single and vote for her?

Reasons:

1. Japanese yen is falling. I'm practical; it's reached an all time low. It was already amazingly low when I went to Japan; when I came back its value is abyssmal. Why not buy it now when their currency's weak? It won't get much cheaper anytime else! ...Unless it drops even further.

2. There's 3 versions, each with their own CD, DVD, and all with the voting ticket and a photo (Btw, if you get a photo of one of the popular girls, you can more than cover the cost of single. Ooshima Yuuko, Watanabe Mayu or Kashiwagi Yuki photos are worth more than the single itself. )

For the exact contents of each version, see here:
http://melosnomichi.blogspot.sg/2013/04/akb48-31st-single-titled-sayonara-crawl.html

3. You can make the difference; literally. Sousenkyo are often live broadcasted worldwide via either Youtube or Google+ or other media, so you can actually see when your vote counts... or not


...So yeah. Please vote for Takeuchi Miyu. 31st single Sayonara Crawl can be purchased via CDJapan or HMV. (I reccommend CDJapan; they gave me a 300 yen point discount from the fee when I ordered from there.) For instructions on how to vote, please contact me